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The least we can say is that 2022 has been an eventful year on the world stage, and with no doubt, space took a major part in the headlines. From global environmental challenges to the sudden perception of a war fought Europe's backyard, the space domain and its technology have suddenly reached a level of public awareness and public utility never experienced before. What have we learned from the year that has just gone by, and what still needs to be addressed?

The Council and the European Parliament have reached a provisional agreement on a regulation establishing the EU's secure connectivity program for the period 2023-2027. The program sets goals for the European Union to deploy an EU satellite constellation called 'IRIS2' (Infrastructure for Resilience, Interconnectivity, and Security by Satellite), which will enable secure communication services by 2027

Rocket Factory Augsburg (RFA) and the German Aerospace Center (DLR) announced at Space Tech Expo Europe in Bremen that RFA will build and operate its own test stand at the DLR site in Lampoldshausen, Germany. There, RFA will test its Helix engine starting in mid-2023 to bring the European Union's first staged-combustion engine to serial production maturity.

SpaceX was awarded a NASA contract modification, Option B, to further develop its Starship human landing system to meet agency requirements for long-term human exploration of the Moon as part of the Artemis program, NASA said. According to the modification, SpaceX will conduct a second crewed landing demonstration in 2027 as part of the Artemis IV mission.

NASA successfully launched Artemis I, comprising its Space Launch System (SLS), the most powerful rocket in the world, with the uncrewed Orion spacecraft aboard, which is on its way to cislunar orbit as part of the Artemis program, NASA said. During its 25.5-day space trip, Orion will travel approximately 64,000 km beyond the Moon before returning to Earth.

In this Space Café Radio - SpaceWatch.Global publisher Torsten Kriening spoke with  Philippe Bertrand, Chairman of the Security Accreditation Board at EUSPA - EU Agency for the Space Programme. In May 2022, Philippe Bertrand was elected as the Chairman of the Security Accreditation Board (SAB) of the EU Space Programme. An independent body within EUSPA, SAB is the security accreditation authority for all of the EU Space Programme’s components.

Uganda and Zimbabwe have launched their respective first satellites, on November 7 2022, onto the International Space Station for subsequent deployment into orbit at a later date. The satellites, PearlAfricaSat-1 and ZimSat-1, were launched at the Mid-Atlantic Regional Spaceport at NASA’s Wallops Flight Facility on the Northrop Grumman (NG-18 Cygnus) commercial cargo resupply services to the ISS).

In this Space Café Radio - SpaceWatch.Global publisher Torsten Kriening spoke with Christian Hauglie-Hanssen, Director General of the Norwegian Space Agency, they spoke at this year's Spaceport Norway event held in Oslo, from the 25th to the 26th of October 2022. This event was a great example of combining national innovation power and global space economy into one location. Christian Hauglie-Hanssen spoke with Torsten about the upcoming ministerial conference and the challenges that brings as well as the need of Norway and its space programs when it comes to space and security. Tune in to hear more!

The United Nations Office for Outer Space Affairs (UNOOSA), with support from the UK Space Agency has published a report on the use of space technology to support climate action at the global level, the United Nations Information Service said. The report demonstrates how selected stakeholders use space technology in support of climate action.

Global satellite operator SES, chose to launch its EAGLE-1 satellite, which will support the end-to-end secure Quantum Key Distribution (QKD) system for Europe, by commercial launch service provider Arianespace, the company said. EAGLE-1 is planned to be launched on a Vega C rocket as early as Q4 2024.